Well said—the combining of the workshops and shadowing. I was initially thinking that the workshop would help the mentors learn how to "be a mentor," but on second thought, I think all people involved could benefit from the workshop/shadowing to understand the subtle nuances of sharing and listening to ideas and cooperating, etc. Perhaps, the workshops can pose a real-world issue that the participants can work together to resolve in just a short span of time. This would require letting go of perfectionism, perfect ideas, and require working fast to try out many prototypes. By working with the more experienced mentors, the new mentors and young people could experience that this process can be fun and not a pressure cooker for the one right solution. The goal of the workshop can be the creative process, not the end result. [my apologies if I am repeating anything that may have been posted already]

I am excited to see how your idea expands and unfolds when the young people become a part of the dialog and process. Young people can be so observant and find the most common sense and simple solutions. Very humbling.

Thank you for sharing. I love that. I also imagine that the mentors model (or are practicing) collaboration, positive perception of "failed" prototypes, sharing ideas and building on them, etc (not that I think all young people don't already do this. marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.html). The part that also stands out for me is "working together daily." So true. I think it must build a sense of trust and put into action reliability, commitment and integrity to the collaboration.